It has been brought to my attention that 1.) I have not blogged since before Christmas (whoops) and 2.) that I should write about MY experience with the marathon. And so, in order to give the people what they want...here I am :)
This year, in general, has been a little different than most--I mean, my mom, dad, sister and I brought in the new year with a 5k in Minneapolis. After that I continued to train because I was going to do the dam to dam. My goal: run the whole thing. A month before the D2D is the Klompen classic 5k. I thought to myself "how great would it be to run with Becky" so Becky started training for the D2D and mom did too. And, if you read my moms blog she has so boldly said that the marathon was MY idea--and to be correct, I think it was Becky who planted the seed for a girls weekend we should do this women rock race. I do not remember if she thought we should do the marathon or just the half--regardless--I thought it was a good idea. :) My lovely sister found out that she was expecting her third and that she would did the klompen but that was as much as she could do in terms of running for the year. (YAY for a new niece or nephew in November!) And at some point pre-D2D my mom and I bit the bullet and registered for a full marathon. I remember the phone call well. "Mom, are we doing this or no?" "Rianne, I don't know. can we do it?" "Yes--we can do anything we set our minds to" "yeah, but is that crazy?" "yes, do you want to?" "I am on the registration page filling it out." "yeah me too" "are we doing the full or the half?" "Mom, I think I will do the full and you should too" "Well, I do feel like the Lord is calling me to that." "Mom, I am ready to submit--I am NERVOUS" "me to" "MOM--I JUST HIT SUBMIT" "RIANNE, I DID TOO" "this is it" "we are crazy..."
We did it--we registered--which, in my opinion, is just as hard as running the race. HA, JUST KIDDING! Registering was quick and painful and evoked a lot of emotion. The race itself--that was a whole different animal.
I trained as best I could--I followed the plan and some training runs went better than others. My favorite part of the whole thing--going through it with my mom. Having someone to encourage and push, having my mom encourage and push me. The bad runs, the good runs, the LONG runs--chatting after them and touching base to see what she did differently or tried or kept the same. I LOVED having that to talk about and in common with her! I got to be alongside her with this whole experience. Yes, we run different paces--but the thing that is the same is our stubbornness and desire to do our best, oh which makes us equally crazy :) (I am learning that I am more like my mom than I ever thought--lucky for me, she is really great!)
September 1 was D-Day----if you will. :) There was nothing to do different--it was time to test the training--praying that the Lord spares me from marathon running nightmares. AND He did. PLUS I knew my friends and family were all praying me through. **SIDE BAR**Jenni, my sweet roommate, collected encouraging notes from the women in my bible study. And the morning of the marathon I read them and was humbled by the encouragement and how my journey to the marathon was affecting other people.**END OF SIDE BAR** My mom and I crossed the start line together with smiles---and when she crossed the finish we ended with smiles. After the start I picked up pace and got comfortable with my pace--and I was running well, and was SO pleased with it! We ran out 3 miles, turned around and ran to mile 9 where the half marathoners continued to their finish and we had to turn around and do all of that AGAIN. It was great seeing dad and Becky--I saw dad first, ringing his cowbell and looking back at Becky (I assumed so that she knew he saw me.) He came alongside me asking if I needed anything and then ran ahead to get what I wanted. Then he gave it to me and asked me where mom was--to which my response was "I don't know, back there and she is shaking her head" And then Becky (pregnant and all) would come along side me for a few yards. Dad and Becky were great. Once when Becky came by my I swore off ever doing anything like this again.
I thought this route would be okay--turns out, turning at mile 9 played the most tricks on my mind. and I continued running until around 13...when my quads all tightened up and my hips became so sore---I started walking...and a few times I tried to run. It was hot, my legs were tight, my feet felt like I was walking on glass..........and the 5 hour pacers past me, then the 5:30 hour pace passed me....This was the most lonely I had ever felt. (And I pretty much did all my training alone). And then around mile 18 my uncle Anson his wife Sylvia, and son Justin showed up all with smiles and words of encouragement. Anson and Justin came alongside me and just talked. I was happy to have the company even though I was frustrated and didn't say much. And to be honest I don't remember much of what we talked about. But when it was done all I could think about was how thankful I was for his presence. My uncle Anson is very similar to my dad--and his words of encouragement still are ringing in my head. He carried water and grabbed extra powerade for me--because I wasn't eating anything on the route (I had my sport beans with me but wasn't taking them because I didn't know where the water stops were) and he has been running for a while now and knew I needed to be taking in more of calories to continue. And then we hit mile 25....26 was in sight---he sprinted ahead to be at the finish and I ran in with the strength I could muster up... At the finish line there was just a small intimate crowd...because I was so far behind...but those that were there were the only ones who really cared about me and WANTED to be there and WANTED to see the finish. Diane, Bob, Lauren, Cameron, Bobbie, McKaden, Robert, and Tristina, Bonnie, John, Anson, Sylvia, Justin, Dad, and Becky. I crossed--I did it, A few tears came--lots of hugs, and then just waiting to see my mom. "come on mom" was all I could think....and then there she was...she ran in and I stood behind the finish line. ACCOMPLISHMENT! WE DID IT! WE FINISHED! My dad hugged me and told me how proud of me he was. My sister hugged me and told me how proud of me she was. In that moment, the time didn't matter. It was done.
That was my marathon. The next question is always: Will you ever do another one? My response: I can't say never--because I probably will...when, who knows. Not until Becky forgets that I told her to never let me do it again :) haha! The thing about running is that there are a lot of factors that can play into a good or bad run. I guess that can be said about any sport--that is why it is competitive(I suppose). IF I do another full marathon there will be more participants than the 240 out of 4150 people who do the FULL.
I am registered for a half marathon on October 21 in Chicago. It is called the Monster Dash--and is sponsored by the same group that did the Women Rock Marathon (described above). After I registered and did more research I am skeptical of this BECAUSE they encourage costumes, and if you know anything about me, you know my fear of things/people in costumes. Perhaps it will trigger my best time yet...
I have not run since the marathon and am still dealing with tight muscles--but I will get back out there in the next few days. But, I have been enjoying basking in the marathon.
My final thoughts: 1.) NEVER say you can't run. Running, like anything else, take practice and you have to start with small victories and interval training. 2.) I am so thankful for my friends and family who came alongside me to encourage and support me through this journey. It was time consuming and thought consuming. But I am thankful for everyone being gracious and allowing me to take the time I needed to do long runs and short runs and just be out pounding the pavement. 3.) If I learned anything from the marathon it would be that I understand the parallels in the Bible between life and running. Running is just as hard mentally as it is physically. You have to WANT to run (fast, slow, intervals, through the cramping, and rain, and heat, and not wanting to take time for the short runs) You have to WANT life and all the crazy twists and turns it can throw at you--and you have to continue through them...even if your run turns to a walk. Some days you just need to log miles, other days you never want the run to end. Likewise, in life you sometimes need to slow down, and sometimes there is nothing stopping you. But at the end of it all you must remember the your Father is cheering you on--asking what you need and grabbing it for you, and He is helping your mom/sister/brother behind you too. And when you are on the course and feel alone He is there you just have to get to where He is, and ultimately He is at the finish waiting to tell you how proud he is that you finished.4.) I really just did the marathon for the sticker I could put on my car with less than 1% of the rest of the population. :) (I am only sort of kidding) Regardless, the Lord still used it to stretch me and teach me more about myself and how He made me and such.
I hope I have helped paint the picture of my experience. I mean, I turned 26 in January--it ONLY makes sense to run a marathon...26 mile race when you are 26...or something :).
Until next time...remember you are loved!
